John Jacob Withrow (1833 – August 5, 1900) was a Toronto businessman and politician. He proposed the first edition of the

Canadian National Exhibition The Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), also known as The Exhibition or The Ex, is an annual event that takes place at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on the third Friday of August leading up to and including Canadian Labour Day, ...

and organised the annual event for several years. Withrow was born in

York, Upper Canada York was a town and second capital of the colony of Upper Canada. It is the predecessor to the Old Toronto, old city of Toronto (1834–1998). It was established in 1793 by Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe as a "temporary" location for th ...

, and opened a construction business. In 1873, he was elected as

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

for the

Toronto City Council Toronto City Council is the governing body of the municipal government of Toronto, Ontario. Meeting at Toronto City Hall, it comprises 25 city councillors and the mayor of Toronto. The current term began on November 15, 2022. Structure The cur ...

. He tried to convince the Provincial Fair Association to permanently establish their annual fair in Toronto. When they refused, he established an annual fair in Toronto, which later became the

. He twice ran, unsuccessfully, to become

mayor of Toronto The mayor of Toronto is the head of Toronto City Council and chief executive officer of the municipal government. The mayor is elected alongside city council every four years on the fourth Monday of October; there are no term limits. While in ...

. After leaving city council, he sat on the board of various businesses and philanthropic organisations. He declared bankruptcy after losing his investments in a depression in the 1890s. He died in Toronto after suffering from a stroke.

Early life

Withrow was born in 1833 in York, Upper Canada (later named

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

). His parents were James Withrow and Ellen Sanderson. He achieved his schooling at Toronto Academy, worked at an architect's office, and worked as a contractor for McBean and Withrow, his father's building firm. He then toured the northern United States to observe architecture trends in the region, and in the late 1850s he returned to Toronto and worked as a carpenter. In the late 1860s, he partnered with John Hillock to form a contractor and lumber merchant business called Withrow and Hillock.

Political career and permanent fair

In 1873 Withrow was elected as

for St David's Ward in the

. The following year, he was elected in St Thomas's Ward as alderman, and would be reelected for in the subsequent three years. As alderman, he focused on bringing the annual provincial exhibition to Toronto every year, as before the exhibition had been held in various cities across the province. He led the city's exhibition committee when they enlarged the city's exhibition grounds and built permanent buildings. The Provincial Fair Association, the body that decided where the provincial exhibition was to be located, announced that the 1879 edition would take place in Ottawa, much to the chagrin of Withrow. At the closing banquet of the 1878 fair, Withrow announced that Toronto would host a permanent exhibition the subsequent year. Withrow did not consult the city or any other person before making this announcement. Withrow chaired the Industrial Exhibition Association of Toronto, the body that would organise the permanent fair in Toronto in the fall of 1879. The fair was successful and continued for subsequent years as the

, with Withrow remaining chair of the association until his death. In 1882, Withrow joined with other prominent Methodist businessmen to form Saskatchewan Land and Homestead Company Limited, a company that promoted the settlement of the territories north and west of Ontario. Withrow was the company's first president and remained in the position until his death. He was also the head of the board for a public bath built on the

Toronto Islands The Toronto Islands are a chain of 15 small islands in Lake Ontario, south of mainland Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Comprising the only group of islands in the western part of Lake Ontario, the Toronto Islands are located just offshore from the ...

called Wiman Bath.

Mayoral campaigns

Withrow was nominated to become mayor of Toronto in 1883. During the campaign, he was criticised by the trade union movement for his treatment of his employees and for intervening in the 1872 printers' strike. He lost the election to

Arthur Radcliffe Boswell Arthur Radcliffe Boswell (3 January 1838 – 16 May 1925) was a Canadian lawyer and politician, including as Mayor of Toronto. Early life and education Boswell was born in Cobourg, Upper Canada, on 3 January 1838. His father was George Mors ...

by five votes. In 1885 he ran again to become mayor, but was defeated by the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

candidate Alexander Henderson Manning.

Business career and philanthropy

In 1883, Withrow built a home on

Hanlan's Point Hanlan's Point Beach is a public beach situated on Hanlan's Point in the Toronto Islands near Toronto, Ontario on the shore of Lake Ontario. A 1 kilometre-long part of the beach was officially recognized by the city in 2002 as being clothing opt ...

on the Toronto islands called the Lakeside Home for Little Children, which was used by Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children as a summer home. Withrow was also a trustee of the home. He also supervised the construction of a new Hospital for Sick Children in the late 1880s and fundraised for the project. Withrow supplied the doors and

sashes Sashes Island is an island in the River Thames in England at Cookham Lock near Cookham, Berkshire. It is now open farmland, but has Roman and Anglo-Saxon connections. The island is located between Hedsor Water and the present navigation cha ...

for the construction of

Massey Hall Massey Hall is a performing arts theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Opened in 1894, it is known for its outstanding acoustics and was the long-time hall of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. An intimate theatre, it was originally designed to seat ...

and completed the carpentry work. During his lifetime he was the only member of the Massey Hall board who was not a member of the Massey family. Withrow was the president of a loan society called the Canadian Mutual Loan and Investment Company. A depression in the 1890s caused Withrow to declare bankruptcy in 1894 as their investments in property declined. In 1895 he was appointed as the chief assessor for Toronto.

Personal life

Withrow married Margaret Foster and they had two daughters and three sons. Withrow was a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

. Withrow died on August 5, 1900 in Toronto of a stroke.

Withrow Park Withrow Park is a urban park, park in the Riverdale, Toronto, Riverdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Laid out and constructed in the 1910s, at the same time that the surrounding community was built, Withrow Park is among Toronto's ...

in Toronto, created in 1910, was named for Withrow.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Withrow, John Jacob 1833 births 1900 deaths category:People from York, Upper Canada Pre-Confederation Ontario people Date of death missing